NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On June 19, SapientNitro, part of Publicis.Sapient, and creative think tank PRETTYBIRD will host a discussion called “Make Some Room,” to address diversity in the advertising industry and steps that can be taken to implement real change and inspire action.
SapientNitro Global Chief Creative Officer Donald Chesnut will lead the panel of creative visionaries who will share their personal journeys exploring the ways to improve inclusion and access that exists in creative fields. Going beyond talk and more than just a discussion, the speakers will give attendees the opportunity to discover how they can create valuable change within their own organization’s culture by supporting different points of view.
"We should aim higher than offering up diversity quotas as a solution to the industry's lack of diversity," said Chesnut. “At ‘Make Some Room,’ a blend of creative luminaries will reveal how their unique points of view challenge the status quo, break barriers and inspire us to give people different from ourselves a voice.”
“We asked four of the strongest, most creative voices we admire to speak to us, voices who have made themselves heard, not because of their skin color, their genitalia, or their sexual preference but because they are the very best at what they do,” added Ali Brown, VP & Executive Producer, PRETTYBIRD. “And we all share the belief that it is of critical importance to find, nurture and mentor more creative people in this business who look and think like them to move past identifying the problem of diversity and into solving it.”
Bringing their own unique experiences of breaking through diversity barriers to the table, the speakers include:
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Matt Lambert – Director, PRETTYBIRD
- Berlin-based American filmmaker, photographer and visual artist has been named by Tribeca Film Festival as one of the Ten Filmmakers of the Future. His recent photobooks, Keim and Vitium, capture intimate moments of gay youth culture.
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Desmond Marzette – Global Director of Advertising, Jordan Brand
- Marzette taught UC Berkely’s first ever course in hip hop culture and helped launch Def Jam Mobile in 2000. He helped Jordan Brand secure the brand its first Cannes Lion Award for the ‘Re2pect’ campaign in 2015.
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Xanthe Wells – Creative Entrepreneur
- Recognized in 2015 by Ad Age as one of the industry's '40 Under 40' and by Business Insider as one of '30 Most Creative Women in Advertising', Xanthe is now leading several brand creation projects including OH YES! Natural foods pizza company and ACHOREABLES children’s products.
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Mimi Valdés – Chief Creative Officer, i am OTHER
- For more than twenty years, award-winning multi-hyphenate (chief creative officer, writer, editor, producer, speaker) Mimi Valdés has changed the way the world consumes pop culture, and produces content that has a lasting impact.
“Make Some Room” will take place Sunday, June 19 from 15:00 – 15:45 at the Lumiere Theatre in the Palais. Follow the conversation using #MakeSomeRoom.
Learn more about “Make Some Room” and its hosts on the official Cannes website.
About SapientNitro
SapientNitro®, part of Publicis.Sapient,
is a new breed of agency redefining storytelling for an always-on world.
We’re changing the way our clients engage today’s connected consumers by
uniquely creating integrated, immersive stories across brand
communications, digital engagement, and omni-channel commerce. We call
it our Storyscaping® approach, where art and imagination meet the power
and scale of systems thinking. SapientNitro’s unique combination of
creative, brand and technology expertise results in one global team
collaborating across disciplines, perspectives and continents to create
game-changing success for Global 1000 clients, such as Chrysler, Citi,
The Coca-Cola Company, Lufthansa, Target and Vodafone, in 31 cities
across The Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. For more information, visit www.sapientnitro.com.
